Finding Harmony
by kuromichan1985
Summary: A human child is found at the edge of the Everfree forest. She seems to embody all the innocence and magic that make up Equestria, but as the six friends try to find a way to get her home they learn what magic can mean to a child who has no hope left.
1. Chapter 1

Finding Harmony

_A small, plastic horse doll sits on a table, its lavender colour shining in the moonlight spilling in from the window. The shadowy figure of a young boy reaches out to the doll and clutches it to his chest as tears fall from his eyes. He looks over to his little sister's bed and furiously wipes at the tears, then strokes his fingers through the doll's mane lost in thought._

_ "Oh Harmony, where did you go?..."_

The light from the setting sun shone bright behind her casting her profile into shadow. The pale, yellow pegasus's wings stood spread out against the sun as she approached the clearing where she heard the cries of what she thought was a distressed animal she could help. But as she came closer to the creature she thought at first it could be another pony curled up in a ball, their blonde mane sticking out in two directions as if it were two tiny tails on the side of the pony's head. Still something was wrong. The pony with the tails in her mane was two-toned in colour. Her body covered in lavender cloth such as a pony would wear to a fancy ball, and her legs that were clutched tightly under her body were blue. The winged pony's perception of the creature completely changed when it raised its head to her.

"Are you an angel?" came the small voice of a filly, but it was not a filly who looked up into the eyes of the Pegasus. No. The face was oval shaped and the colour of summer peaches with rounded rosy cheeks. The nose was small and flat with no muzzle, and the eyes, although wide with fear were much smaller than any filly the concerned pony had seen before. This creature was unlike anything she had ever seen before in her life.

"Mommy said there'd be angels…" said the voice again, and that was enough to send the pony into a panic, and squeaking like a mouse she jumped into a bush away from the strange sight.

"Wait! Don't leave!" cried the little voice so like a lost filly calling for their mother it sent a pain into the heart of the hiding Pegasus. Her gentle soul could never abandon a crying and helpless little creature even if she couldn't understand what exactly they were. Her fear of the unknown kept her paralyzed under the shelter of the little bush, but the empathy in her heart pulled at her to resurface and face what scared her, but who seemed just as scared as she.

The sun was a little more than a glint in the sky when the shy Pegasus pulled herself out from under the bush she sheltered in and forced herself to approach the helpless two-tail as she thought to call it. The two-tail was again curled into a ball so that her namesake was all that was visible as the wary pony came closer, her hooves softly echoing against the dirt ground.

_Don't be afraid._ The Pegasus thought to herself._ She's small, and scared like a baby bunny. I can help her…._

Just then the creature looked up again, her fur-less, peach coloured face scaring the winged pony again but she stood firm as she saw the fear in the eyes of the two-tail.

"You're not an angel.." the fear in the voice was almost palpable as the creature mentioned the name of the pegasus's bunny friend again in the negative.

"You're a… a… " the pony stepped back. "A Pegasus!" the two-tail's voice rose in pitch and her small face lit up in happiness at her discovery.

The yellow Pegasus was shocked that the creature seemed to understand what she was while she couldn't comprehend anything about them.

"Y-yes I'm a-" the pony stopped short as suddenly the little two-tailed creature launched themselves at her in a wide open hug, clutching her around her shoulders.

"Wow, a real, live, Pegasus just like my dolls! I love your wings, and, and you're yellow and your hair is… its pink!" came a string of excited words from the now standing two-tail. Although the Pegasus now saw that the creature was more of a two-_leg_ as she stood up to just reach her head using only two legs and what she thought had been hooves originally wrapped around her like her animal friends' paws.

The excited voice of the young two-legged creature reminded the pony of her always excitable pink friend who she usually felt shy around, but with this strange little one clinging to her she felt no fear or discomfort, but a motherly instinct to take care of her, not unlike her common nature of caring for small animals.

"Hello, little one," the Pegasus spoke up gently nuzzling the two-legged off of her mane. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like you in this forest before. Where do you come from?"

The little one calmed down enough to listen to the voice of the pony before her, and looked quizzically into her eyes.

"I don't know. Where am I? I've never seen anyone like you before either… except in my storybooks." The two-legged frowned a little, upsetting the Pegasus to see she had scared her again.

"Oh, don't worry, we can figure it all out with the help of my friends" she said, deciding right then and there that she must bring this lost little creature to see her learned unicorn friend, Twilight Sparkle. She surely would be able to explain what she was and where she had come from.

"There are more of you?" the two-legged spoke up excited again.

"Why yes, this is Ponyville, in the land of Equestria, and many ponies and pegasi live here." The Pegasus explained. She had no time to mention the unicorns, dragons and alicorn princesses before the little one chirped again.

"Oh please let me meet your friends!" she cried, excitedly bouncing up and down in one spot, again reminding the Pegasus of her just as excitable friend.

"Of course, of course. But first, my name is Fluttershy." The winged pony said, softly, her ears bending down as the shyness of introductions still overtook her. "Please, tell me your name." she continued, smiling kindly.

"My name is Harmony. Mommy says it means everyone gets along." The small one grinned, happily, but the pony seemed to be lost in thought about the meaning of the name of her new friend.

"Oh…my..." she spoke. "That's a very special name." The pony flicked her long, voluminous tail out toward the child. "Can you hold on to my tail and try to hide yourself…if that's OK? I think it would be best if the other ponies in town don't see you until we meet my friends. Will that be OK with you, Harmony?" Fluttershy asked, haltingly.

"Hehe, it tickles" the little one giggled, already holding on to the pony's flowing tail which hid her in a curtain of soft pink.

"Now hold on, and try to keep up. It's not too far to where my friend lives." She said as she slowly started to trot forward, hearing the giggle of her companion behind her.

_Oh, I wonder what this sweet little creature could be? I hope Twilight can help us figure this out. _She thought, excitedly to herself as she headed to Twilight's library and into the coming night.


	2. Chapter 2

"A human! I never thought I would see one!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed as she gazed at the small child peeking out from behind Fluttershy's tail that evening.

Twilight had read about humans in her studies of Equestrian mythologies during Celestia's tutelage. There wasn't much information but from what she could gather a human was a mysterious bipedal being from another world whom had been found in Equestria one thousand years ago around the same time that Nightmare Moon was banished. The human was much bigger than the common ponies and could almost stand as tall as the alicorns. The lore spoke of the human being unkind and even blood thirsty. He had seen the unicorns as something to be hunted, especially lusting after the alicorn's magnificent horns. Because the mythology seemed to coincide with the Mare in the Moon and Nightmare Moon's debut it was mostly dismissed as a legend, but then again so had Nightmare Moon herself. Seeing this for herself only a year ago Twilight was not one to dismiss the Human as a legend and here one stood in front of her.

"A human? You know what she is, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy, nervously. She had been holding back, protecting her charge behind her back as the unicorn excitedly spoke about humans in legends using her horn to telekinetically gather books from her shelf to research more. That's when the child stepped out from behind the Pegasus and stared at her in awe.

"You're a unicorn!" she cried, hopping up and clapping her hands excitedly. "They really exist! Pegasuses and unicorns!" the little girl was absolutely ecstatic and Twilight didn't know what to make of it.

"Um, we're called Pegasi, Harmony." Fluttershy offered, softly, but the little girl obviously didn't hear her.

"You can do magic! You can grant my wish. Please, please make my wish come true, Miss unicorn!"

Just as Fluttershy had thought Twilight immediately saw the resemblance to Pinkie Pie this human child conveyed. Her excitement was adorable and oh so infectious.

"You can call me Twilight, little one. And yes, I am a unicorn and can do magic." She smiled, warmly, wondering how this small, excitable human child could possibly be anything like the cruel human of legend. To the child, herself and her kind were some sort of legend too, but one she was greatly familiar with unlike the obscure legend of a human in Equestria. And she seemed to know something about magic.

"Twilight, I got the groceries you asked for- oh, hi, Fluttershy" Just then Spike walked into the library holding a bag of vegetables.

"Oh hello, Spike. How are you?" Fluttershy smiled and then looked around. "Oh, where did she go?"

"Where did who go?" Spike asked, looking around too.

"The human. I think you scared her away, Spike." Twilight giggled, coming over to Fluttershy, who revealed the little girl hiding behind her tail again.

"The what- I'm missing something." The baby dragon grumbled, coming over to the two ponies.

"You don't have to be scared, he's just a baby dragon." Fluttershy said, gently, moving her tail so Spike could see the little girl.

"A d-dragon?" Harmony's eyes were wide and she shivered, but looked closer at Spike as he came over to her.

"This is Spike. He's my friend." Twilight offered standing between the two. "Spike, this is Harmony. Fluttershy found her outside the Ever-Free forest and I'm seeing if I can help figure out where she came from. She's a human." She added.

"Um, ok, whatever that is." Spike said causing Twilight to give him a dirty look and he grimaced. "Ok, ok. Hi Harmony." Spike wasn't particularly bothered by seeing the human. He had seen many different creatures before, and it was in his genes as a dragon to not fear something new. Besides, the child was so small and helpless looking there wasn't anything for him to fear.

"H-hello." Came the shy reply.

Spike grinned. "You don't have to be scared of me. I'm a nice dragon."

Harmony giggled.

"I thought just pegasuses and unicorns lived here." She said, timidly.

"Pegasi…" came Fluttershy again.

"There are many creatures in Equestria. You'll mostly see ponies, pegasi and unicorns around here like Fluttershy and I, but there are places beyond our borders and in that forest where you came from that have dragons and other not so friendly inhabitants." Twilight explained, going back to her books and selecting one with her magic brought it to the table in front of her two guests.

"I'm one of the friendly ones." Spike reassured the child as he went to put away his bag of vegetables and start on cooking dinner.

"See this is where Fluttershy found you." The unicorn said pointing her hoof at a drawing of the Everfree forest on a map of Equestria. Both Fluttershy and Harmony came over to look at the map.

The Everfree forest was close to Fluttershy's cottage explaining how her friend had come across the human child, but there weren't any clues to where she could have come from. To the west of the forest were the Dragon Mountains, to the south was Zecora's hut and further south-west were the former castle ruins. Except for Zecora's dwelling none of these places were safe for a small child to have survived on her own and Twilight had spoken to the zebra Zecora just the other day and there had been no mention of a human from her. The only place the unicorn could think to have something to do with the child's sudden appearance was the castle ruins where she and her friends had fought Nightmare Moon. The lore of the first human had seemed to occur at the same time as the Nightmare's first attack, they could possibly be linked somehow.

As Twilight explained her thoughts to Fluttershy the Pegasus seemed a little lost at the complex description and the human child looked sleepy. The librarian sighed and closed the book.

"I think we should report this to Princess Celestia." She said and was surprised to see Fluttershy lower her ears and move back to stand in front of the little girl protectively.

"Oh no, I don't think that's a good idea…" her voice was as soft as always but her protective stance showed a firmness to the unicorn making her remember that her seemingly shy friend was not one to be trifled with when it came to protecting something.

"If the first human was as bad as you say…" the pale yellow pegasus continued. "the princesses might not be kind to Harmony. I can't let that happen to her. Harmony can't possibly be like that mean creature you described." She cried, although her pitch didn't waver.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. The princess isn't going to do anything to hurt Harmony." Twilight reasoned. "I don't believe she is anything like the human in the legends either, and Princess Celestia and Luna will see that too."

Fluttershy hung her head, but conceded.

"OK Twilight, if you say it will be alright I'll trust you. I just don't want to see anything happen to her." The Pegasus turned around to look at her charge as she spoke and gasped.

The small child was curled up on the floor using the end of Fluttershy's long tail as a blanket and breathing deeply in peaceful sleep.

"Oh, I guess she was tired." The Pegasus said nuzzling the child off of her tail gently so as not to wake her.

"Today was probably over exciting to her. Who knows what she must have been through before you found her." Twilight commented and using her magic levitated the little one over to her bed and tucked her under the blankets.

"Thank you for your help, Twilight. I didn't know what I could do to help her, but I felt like I just _had_ to do something. She's like a lost little filly or like the animals I care for. I want to protect her." The Pegasus said, graciously smiling at her friend.

"I understand, Fluttershy. But really, I don't think I've done anything to help you or Harmony. This is something I don't think I can research on my own, so all I can do is contact Princess Celestia for more information." Twilight said as she walked over to her writing desk.

"Oh yes, the princesses…"

Fluttershy still sounded reluctant about the idea, but Twilight knew her mentor would definitely be able to shed some light on the situation and figure out where the human child had come from and why. Nothing bad could possibly happen.

"Spike, take a letter…"

_My faithful student,_

_I must say this news you write of has concerned me. A human, as you may know, has not been seen in Equestria for a thousand years. I ask that you please bring to Canterlot this human child as well as your friends the elements of harmony, for I think we will need their help to solve this problem. _

_HRH Celestia_

Twilight Sparkle frowned at the letter. She wasn't sure if it meant her mentor and Princess could help understand where the human child had come from, or if she feared the sudden appearance of a human and wanted to somehow send her away. She didn't think Fluttershy would be too happy with the letter in any case and decided to not show it right away to the motherly mare who sat by her charge's bedside.

The two friends had ate a light dinner after Spike sent the letter informing of Harmony's discovery to Princess Celestia, and then Twilight had offered to have her friend stay the night as she didn't seem to want to leave the little girl and it would be a shame to wake her up. There wasn't much they could do until the morning so Twilight bid Fluttershy good night and left to go study downstairs leaving the child in her own bed.

Fluttershy lay on a cushion by Harmony's side and sighed.

"I just wish I knew where you came from and why you're here…" she said to herself leaning her head down on her hooves.

"I didn't really want to get the princesses involved. What if they banish her to the moon? Or to a dungeon? Or a dungeon on the moon?" the nervous Pegasus squeaked and then stood up and leaned over the little girl. Twilight's paranoia was rubbing off on her.

"Mommy…" Suddenly the child spoke in her sleep causing Fluttershy to fall back on her haunches.

"Mommy it hurts… you said it wouldn't hurt anymore…mommy…" Harmony tossed and turned, her voice sounding pained and scared. The pony sat up again and put her hoofs on the little girl to steady her.

"Its OK, no one's going to hurt you." She soothed.

"Mommy, I want to go home!" Harmony cried waking herself up. She focused on the Pegasus sitting in front of her and then clutched her around the neck.

"You weren't a dream. You are real, pretty Fluttershy." The child whispered tearfully and buried herself in her new friend's soft mane.

"Yes, its OK, Harmony. I'm here for you." Fluttershy promised, nuzzling her.

"And the unicorn too? She's real?"

"Yes, honey. We're going to help you find your mommy again."

"Mommy…." Harmony turned away, still clutching the pegasus's mane in her small hands. "I miss my mommy." She whimpered.

"I know you do. But we're going to get the help of the princess who knows a lot of magic. Surely she can help you get home, Harmony."

"The princess?"

Fluttershy smiled, happy to be able to speak about something nice with the child again.

"Oh yes, Princess Celestia and Luna are alicorns. That means they have wings and a unicorn horn. Princess Celestia can raise the sun for us, and Princess Luna raises the moon. They are very powerful, and from what I've seen Princess Celestia is very kind. She's Twilight's teacher."

"Wow~" Harmony exclaimed. "The princesses can really help me? I can't wait to meet them."

"I guess we'll be meeting them soon..." the Pegasus said, softly, glancing out the window at the full moon. It was still quite late at night. They would need their sleep if they were to journey to Canterlot the next day.

"Now, lets get back to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Fluttershy gently lifted the blanket with her mouth and tucked her charge in.

"Fluttershy, can you sleep with me?" the little girl pleaded, her big eyes bright even in the darkness.

"Um… OK… if you like…" the pony said a bit shyly. Then she walked over to the other side of the bed and climbed in beside the child who held her in a hug.

"Thank you Fluttershy…for saving my life."


	3. Chapter 3

"Wow, it's a rainbow!" cried Harmony as she looked up into the skies over Ponyville the next day. A flash of a rainbow zoomed over her head and she smiled. She had never seen a rainbow move across the sky like that.

"That's not a rainbow, that's our friend." Fluttershy explained as she looked up along with her.

"Your friend's a rainbow?" the child asked, incredulously.

"Rainbow Dash, come down here! We need to talk to you!" Twilight called into the sky and suddenly the rainbow streaking across the clouds materialized into a cyan blue Pegasus lowering herself toward the two ponies and little girl.

"What's up, Twilight? I gotta get the clouds cleared before-whoa!" The rainbow-maned Pegasus startled when she saw the human child, making Fluttershy giggle.

"Rainbow Dash, this is our new friend, Harmony. She came to us from another world. Don't be afraid." Fluttershy said, wryly smiling at Harmony.

"I'm not afraid! Its just uh… uh.." the Pegasus stopped, then zoomed in closer to the little girl.

"Are you an _alien_?" she demanded, eyeing her suspiciously.

"No… are you a rainbow?" Harmony asked, happily.

"Wha-?"

"Rainbow, will you just come down here and let me explain to you what's going on." Twilight called again, irritably and the cyan Pegasus reluctantly floated to the ground.

After the unicorn explained to her how they had found the human child and were trying to find a way to help her get back home with the elements and princesses' help Rainbow Dash calmed down and followed the group to call on the rest of their friends.

"You can really fly! I never saw Fluttershy fly even though she's a Pegasus too." Harmony said, quizzically watching the rainbow maned Pegasus float by her.

"I can fly too…" Fluttershy said, softly, but as usual was interrupted.

"Sure, I can fly. That's what I do. I'm the best flyer in all of Equestria." Rainbow boasted, happy to have someone new to show off for. After all it wasn't like this human knew about the Wonderbolts or anything.

"I could fly around Ponyville in-"

"Don't say it." Twilight grumbled.

"10 seconds _flat_!"

"Oooh." The little girl mused.

The group continued to walk through Ponyville proper toward Sugercube Corner and Rarity's Carousel Boutique. They couldn't hide from the strange looks the other ponies gave them as they noticed the human child who followed along, mesmerized by everything she saw. Twilight decided it wouldn't cause too much trouble confusing the residents of Ponyville as opposed to walking through Canterlot could, but she would deal with that when the time came. The ponies of the town just seemed curious if a little bit nervous.

"We have to throw her a welcome party!" The pink party pony exclaimed, bouncing around the little girl who laughed along with her.

"I agree with you, Pinkie, dear." Spoke up Rarity. "Why the little dear is the newest resident to Ponyville after all." The fashionable unicorn telekinetically floated a light blue wide brim hat on to Harmony's head. She giggled.

"We don't have time to have a party now, Pinkie. We need to go see the princesses." Twilight said, patiently.

Now that the group had met up with Rarity and Pinkie their last stop would be Sweet Apple Acres to call on Applejack. Twilight wasn't surprised she couldn't get past Pinkie Pie wanting to throw a party for the little girl. It would have been nice, really, since the child seemed to love how fun and excitable Pinkie was and was bouncing around the room with her, holding tight to the hat Rarity had given her.

"Aww~" both Pinkie and Harmony said together, and Fluttershy chuckled to herself, quietly.

"Remember, Harmony, we want to find your mommy. We can't do that if we don't hurry to see the princesses." The yellow Pegasus said, gently.

"Mommy…" the child sighed, momentarily losing the glint in her eyes.

"We'll just have to throw you a super-duper-extra-special welcome party when we're finished meeting with the princesses!" Pinkie Pie chirped and Harmony grinned.

"Yeah!"

"Fluttershy, she is simply darling. And she can talk. She's much different from the critters you usually find." Rarity commented as she trotted next to the yellow Pegasus.

"She's not just any critter, Rarity. She's special, I just know it."

"Ah'd really like to get to know the little 'un better, but I suppose if the princesses need to see us we'd better hurry." Applejack said when the group met up with her and explained their mission. The earth pony had been busy with farming with Big Mac but they stopped to have a late breakfast together before Applejack would leave with them for the long journey to Canterlot.

Harmony was a bit confused by the Apple family. She thought all the ponies were colourful and magical like the friends she had just met, but she wasn't disappointed. She said that the ponies and horses where she came from were a lot like Applejack but they didn't wear a cool hat or talk.

"Ah may not know magic, sugercube, but Ah'm pretty good with a lasso." Applejack grinned and flung her lasso around an unsuspecting Rainbow Dash, then swiftly tied her up.

"Hey, why do you always use me?" Rainbow whined, struggling to get free.

"Haha, you're a cowboy!" Harmony exclaimed. "My big brother likes cowboys!"

"Glad to hear it, sugercube." Applejack replied and untied Rainbow Dash, who glared at the orange pony.

"Well, thank you for the breakfast, Big Mac and Granny Smith." Twilight said as the friends finished eating and started to get ready to leave.

"You don't worry none about it." The elderly mare said, smiling. "Just make sure you can get that young 'un home alright." She turned to Big Mac, who nodded.

"Eeyup."

"See ya later, Granny and Big Mac. Take care of Apple Bloom!" Applejack called as they began to walk back to Twilight's library where in a half hour a Pegasus chariot would be arriving for them. Fluttershy wondered what little Harmony would think about flying on a chariot pulled by pegasi. She hoped the child wouldn't be scared.

"Harmony, we're going to take a ride now. The nice pegasi are going to fly us to see the princesses." Fluttershy explained to her charge when three chariots arrived pulled by Celestia's armour-clad pegasi soldiers.

"They're going to fly us there?" the child asked, her eyes lighting up.

The chariots looked like something out of a Greek storybook. They were pure white with gold trim sparkling along the edges like sunshine, and the sides had intricate designs of Celestia's sun mark done in gold. It was pulled by two large, white, pegasi stallions who stood at attention as they waited for their passengers to board. Twilight conversed a bit with them and chose a carriage with Applejack. Rainbow insisted she could fly to Canterlot, but chose a seat with Pinkie Pie who cheered her up by starting a game of I-spy even before they had taken off.

"I spy with my little eye something that is white!" the pink pony giggled.

"That could be anything~" Rainbow mumbled searching around.

The chariots were large enough to fit two ponies, but Fluttershy thought that Harmony would be small enough to sit with two ponies.

"Come along dear, we can't keep the princess waiting." Rarity called to her as she stepped into the third carriage.

"It's the chariots." They heard Rainbow guess.

"Nope!" cried Pinkie.

"Can Harmony sit with us, Rarity? I'm sure there's room…." Fluttershy asked, meekly.

"Of course, darling."

Fluttershy turned to the little girl who seemed a little scared.

"Its OK, Harmony. I'll sit with you. There's nothing to be afraid of." She said, nuzzling her neck.

"O-ok.." Harmony said, shakily and gripped the Pegasus's tail again as she lead her into the chariot. She fit perfectly between the two ponies and cuddled up to Fluttershy, who stroked her hair.

"The pegasi soldiers?" Rainbow Dash asked as the soldiers in question began to canter and rise into the air.

"Nope again!" came Pinkie.

The chariots began to rise as the pegasi took to the air and leaning over Fluttershy's side Harmony gazed out as the ground swiftly grew smaller below her.

"Wow, we're really flying." She whispered, her soft voice excited but also full of wonder too as if the child had never believed she could experience such a thing.

"Mmhm." Fluttershy nodded, smiling.

"Why Fluttershy, my dear, you seem to absolutely _adore_ this little human child." Rarity said and the yellow Pegasus turned to her.

"Well I-" She started feeling a little flustered.

"I believe you have more than compassion and kindness for little animals. Why, Fluttershy, darling, I think you could be a mother with the way you take care of and protect her."

"Oh uh..yes..um" Fluttershy blushed bright red and the unicorn smiled as they watched Equestria's first human child gaze out over the land as they flew off toward the mountains of Canterlot.

"I give up." Rainbow Dash grumbled from the carriage next to them.

"It's the clouds, silly!" chirped Pinkie.

"The clouds? We're in a white chariot with white Pegasi and you pick _clouds_?" the rainbow Pegasus demanded.

"Yup."

"Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash started. "You are _so_ random."


	4. Chapter 4

Finding Harmony

Chapter 4

Canterlot city was more beautiful than Fluttershy remembered. She had been there only a few months ago for the Grand Galloping Gala but perhaps then she hadn't taken in all the beauty of the castle city that jutted out of a mountain like a spectacular rock formation because she was too intent on finding animals to play with. That had not gone over well, and she didn't like to think about it.

The chariots had landed just outside the path to the castle drawbridge in a patch of green grass and trees which banked steeply toward a cliff where a river ran down from the castle moat. The noble unicorns of Canterlot were out enjoying the sunshine on their lunch break and Fluttershy admired their beautiful clothes made of silks and threads she could only imagine Rarity must be fawning over.

"Oh my, why, I've never seen such a beautiful shawl- oh! And that hat! And those shoes! Oh my goodness!" The unicorn in question was indeed gushing over the fashions of the Canterlot citizens as the group walked through the path to the drawbridge. Fluttershy wouldn't have been surprised if some of the fashions her friend was exciting over were of her own influence based on her popularity with Equestria's celebrities as of late. As she thought about this she almost forgot about why they were in the capital city, and looked to the little girl standing beside her who she had come to care for deeply.

"Is that the castle where the princesses live?" Harmony asked as she gazed up at the white marble and yellow striped towers of Celestia's sun palace.

"Yes, it is, Harmony." The pegasus replied continuing to stare, still mystified herself.

"I sometimes forget how much I miss this place…" Twilight spoke up then and Fluttershy noticed the tears in the purple mare's eyes.

"Did you used live here?" Harmony asked.

"Yes, I grew up here, Harmony." She replied, blinking the tears away as she realized the child was much farther away from home then she had ever been.

"So the princess got you home too!" the child exclaimed. "She can _definitely _find a way to get me home then!"

"Harmony, that's not how-" Fluttershy held out a hoof in front of the unicorn and shook her head. It was better to let the little girl believe, than dash her hopes.

"Are we going to meet the princesses, or what?" Rainbow Dash impatiently fluttered in front of them then, breaking their chains of thought.

"Oh… yes. Let's go girls." Twilight said, and the group walked across the drawbridge and into the castle.

Sunlight poured in through the many coloured stained glass windows in the great hall of the castle, casting a rainbow of light on those entering its chambers. Their hoof (and in Harmony's case; foot) steps echoed on the marble as they approached the majestic white mare princess who stood at the end of the hall waiting for them, her expression regal and therefore unreadable. Twilight galloped up to her mentor to offer a greeting and Harmony- Equestria's first human child- hid behind Fluttershy's tail and took in the sight of the swan-like alicorn whose ethereal, pastel mane flowed in the still, breezeless room. She had never seen anything like the princess before. Princess Celestia's ivory coat and tall, horse-like appearance reminded her of the unicorn of legend from where she had come from. The ponies of this world were small and colourful, each with their own magic and beauty, but this princess was how the little girl had always imagined a unicorn to be, and she immediately knew that the magic she had always believed in must truly exist here and she could get her wish.

"Hello, my little ponies." The princess said warmly, a smile appearing on her face. The ponies bowed and Twilight nuzzled her teacher.

"Hello, princess, thank you for agreeing to help us." Twilight said.

"No, my faithful student, thank you for coming here. Where is the child?" the regal mare asked looking over the gathered ponies.

Fluttershy turned around, knowing by now that she would find Harmony hiding behind her.

"It's OK, Harmony, you can come out now." She said, gently. "The princess wants to say hello." She smiled, putting the child at ease. Cautiously Harmony came out from behind the pegasus's tail and stepped into view of the princess.

The alicorn princess gazed down into the eyes of the small human child who stood nervously in front of her. She was nothing like the human she had met and mistakenly trusted so long ago. She was a child, barely more than a baby. If ages were similar in her world she couldn't be any more than five or six years old. Her large blue eyes held wonder and amazement but also seemed pained somehow. They were eyes that had seen suffering and fear. Celestia didn't know what to think of it, but she knew there was no way this small child could ever be the same as the human who could have destroyed Equestria so many years ago.

"How do you do, Princess. My name is Harmony." The child said, bending her knees and pulling the sides of her dress out from her body in a curtsey. It was a feminine bow that her ponies couldn't have done, and it impressed her. This little girl must had seen royalty where she was from also and learned the greeting there. In response the princess bowed her own head toward the child.

"Hello, Harmony. On behalf of myself and my sister, Princess Luna, I would like to welcome you to our kingdom of Equestria." She declared, straightening up and smiling at the child who smiled back.

"Thank you, Princess. It's nice to meet you."

"Princess Celestia." Twilight spoke up then. "Where is Princess Luna? Will she be joining us today?" she asked hopefully. She hadn't seen the moon princess of the night since the elements of harmony had healed her of her possession by Nightmare Moon. Would this be the time to finally meet her again?

The princess momentarily frowned. "Luna will be along. She is a night pony, so the afternoon is usually still her time of rest. She will join us soon."

"Now, Harmony," the white alicorn turned to the little girl again. "Can you tell me anything about when you first came here?" she asked.

"Um… I don't know. I was sleeping…and then…and then… I was in that forest. It was cold and scary and I didn't know where I was or what to do so I just started walking, but I fell and and…" the child began sniffling, her voice shaking. Fluttershy galloped up to her and nuzzled against her as she began to cry.

"It's OK Harmony, you're safe now. You don't need to go back to that scary place. I'll protect you." Harmony hugged the pegasus mare who reached up with a hoof to hug her back.

"Fluttershy- the element of kindness- you are the one who found her?" Princess Celestia asked, thoughtfully. The yellow pegasus turned to her, still holding the little girl.

"Yes, she was just outside the Everfree forest. She was all alone, I had to help her, Princess." She explained, hesitantly. "I hope that's OK with you…" she bent her ears low as she held on to her adopted charge.

"You did well to help her. I would have done the same myself." The regal mare seemed troubled as she spoke. "There is nothing to fear, my ponies. This child is in no way like the tragedy that befell our kingdom so long ago. I see no threat; no harm will come to her." Princess Celestia paused, and then turned to face the other ponies.

"I think it is time I showed you all what really happened the first time a human came into our world."


	5. Chapter 5

Finding Harmony

Chapter 5

Princess Celestia led the ponies and little girl down a set of stairs and deep into the castle, where the halls were darker without the usual beauty of the stain glass windows, and only torchlight to light the way. The hallways stretched into the darkness with the pale torchlight only showing glimpses of barred doors and small cave-like cells carved into the stone walls. Even Twilight had never been to this part of the castle, as it was located deep beneath the court and bedroom areas where she had lived and studied.

Fluttershy, who would've been afraid of the dark and cavernous basement herself, conquered her fears and let little Harmony clutch her mane as they nervously walked through the dark halls. The other ponies noticed this and stuck close to their friend as she tried to be brave for the little girl and it touched their hearts.

"I apologize for the unkemptness of this place. These halls are not used by the general court, and neither Luna nor I have any reason to come here anymore." The princess explained.

"Princess, is this a dungeon?" Twilight asked somewhat shakily.

"Why, Twilight, what a thing to ask. The princess would never put any pony in a dark depressing place like this." Rarity scolded.

"Well…" Celestia paused and turned to the group, reluctance in her tone. "Things have not always been as peaceful as they are now. Sometimes the dungeons were necessary to make sure no evil would fall on the ponies of this kingdom." She returned to her steady pace of walking before her revelation could sink in.

Rarity's mouth hung open in an unladylike expression of shock, and Twilight felt too astonished to speak. She had studied much about Equestria's history, as well as heard stories from her mentor, but had never realized what a world without peace really was like. To think that this dark and frightening dungeon was needed for the criminals of the past meant they must have been accused of more than taking an apple without paying for it back then. She shuddered to think what they would come upon at the end of the dark hallway. What had the first human done? What had her fellow ponies done to merit such a punishment?

Princess Celestia said no more on the subject and soon they came to a locked door which she unlocked with her horn. The large stone door opened with a loud creak, and revealed a dark storage room which the princess lit up with the glow of her horn. Inside was a long metallic object that neither of the ponies had ever seen before. The object had a wooden handle piece with a rounded trigger attached to the narrow metal muzzle that stretched out into a cylinder with a sharp point at the tip. It gave off a sense of evil and hate that made the group shudder.

"This is the reason why the human has become just a legend. I do not want any pony or creature to know about this evil thing." Princess Celestia stated with a note of disgust and pain in her voice.

"That thing's bad." Suddenly, Harmony spoke up causing everypony to look her way. "Boys like to play with toy guns, but mommy says they are bad and hurt people. I don't like them." She spoke as if she had seen many of the things and this concerned the princess.

"I see the human world still has a use for these then. I had hoped you would not know what this was, my child." She said sadly.

"What is it? Can I play with it?" Pinkie Pie excitedly asked, reaching out to touch the newly discovered treasure.

"No!" The thunderous voice of the usually calm princess echoed through the cavern as she swatted Pinkie Pie's hoof away from the hated object. "Do not touch it, don't even come near it!" she shouted, and the pink pony fell back, her expression one of shock and hurt.

"Pinkie!" cried her friends, and Applejack offered a hoof to help her up. The princess stood firm in front of the door, telekinetically slamming it behind her.

"I am sorry, my ponies." She sighed, her ears low as the door shut out the view of the metallic object. "I did not mean to be so sharp, but I truly fear this thing and that is why I keep it here. It is dangerous beyond your imagination and I did not anticipate that any of you would try to come so near it." The regal mare bowed her head in front of Pinkie who grinned, seeming to disregard the whole incident.

"Okey dokey. Not a toy. Got it." She said.

"Princess, no one could anticipate what Pinkie Pie would do," Twilight started, eyeing the silly pony, but she felt frightened from seeing her teacher become so angry so suddenly too. "But what is that thing, and why do you fear it so much?"

"This is the only proof we have left of the first human." The princess replied. "It is an evil relic, but I cannot destroy it." She sighed. "The human brought this with him to our world and committed a grave act with it. When he suddenly disappeared this was left behind, and I had it locked here where I hoped no creature would ever see it again- especially my sister."

"The human disappeared?" Fluttershy interrupted, anxiously glancing over at Harmony again hiding behind her back.

"Yes. I do not know how he came here or how he left. I am afraid that is a mystery I cannot solve. The only clue has been Harmony's appearance roughly 1000 years later, although I do not really see a connection."

"At the time, as you know, Princess Luna and I were living in the castle in the Everfree forest where you defeated Nightmare Moon. This is where the human was found by some of our soldiers. He was discovered bloodied and bruised, and our soldiers feared him. He may have been too dazed by finding himself in our world to speak, or did not believe he could be understood, but he attacked without provocation so the unicorn soldiers subdued him and brought him to us."

"The human was a large creature, much larger than Harmony. He was full grown, an adult stallion called a Man. He was my height, or perhaps a little taller, but his body was wide and strong, more so than our strongest stallions, although he said the horses of his world were bigger. When I met him I had never seen anything like him before and although the soldiers urged me to take action on him I pitied him his injuries and tended to them. Luna was more wary of him- I suppose I was more trusting and naïve. She questioned him heavily on where he came from, how he was injured and why he was there. He could only answer about his injuries which he received in a battle he had been fighting before he found himself here."

"He had no idea why he had ended up in our land, and told us that equines in his world did not talk and certainly did not have a horn and wings. He had never seen ponies such as us before, although unicorns and pegasi were told about in stories. This was the same with any kind of magic too. He called it 'witchcraft' and seemed to fear it."

"Neither Luna nor I knew what to do with him. I let him rest and recover from his injuries in one of the castle rooms. We did not keep him as a prisoner, but he was not free to leave the castle due to a leg injury keeping him from walking. He was quiet initially, only speaking when spoken to. Luna thought he had something to hide and feared him. I just thought he was confused about being thrust into our world so suddenly and wished I could find some way to help him return to his own world. I suppose I pitied him and only wished to help him some way. I couldn't imagine what it must be like for him to find himself in another world with beings he had never seen before. Luna would probably say I was too trusting, which was dangerous in my position of power although she always was there to balance it out."

"I explained to the human how Princess Luna and I ruled Equestria by raising the sun and moon and keeping the peace between ponies and other creatures. He seemed interested in our powers, and began to ask questions about what we were capable of. Or what I was capable of. As far as I know Luna never spoke to him alone. She argued with me a lot about trusting him so thoroughly, but I don't believe she had any plans to hurt him. She just wished we could find a way to send him back to where he came from so that her sense of mistrust about him could be put to rest. Unfortunately, this was all happening around the same time of her eventual possession by the Nightmare and things were already tense between us. Although at the time I had no idea how much so."

Princess Celestia paused then and looked over to the child who had come out from her hiding place to show her interest in the story, and she frowned.

"I apologize. The next part of the story may be frightening to you, child, and even you my little ponies. I just want to say before I continue that I do not blame you or your kind for what happened in both my world and yours. Maybe things are better there now, although to hear you recognize the weapon is not promising. I truly believe there is good in every creature in some way, and now, to see the innocence of a human child here we can maybe learn more about the human race and shed our prejudices." The regal mare shook her mane and smiled briefly before continuing.

"I searched the Everfree forest for some clue to how the human came to our world, or some way to help him return. I did research and consulted the most powerful of ponies to help find a spell to help him, yet I did not tell anypony but the royal guard of the human's existence. I didn't want to scare them, or invite anymore mistrust. I suppose it became an obsession of mine and I failed to notice other things going on around me. All I was able to do was summon a memory spell to see the events of the human's life leading up to his appearing here. What I saw shocked me. The human had explained he had been in a battle before coming here but I had never seen a battle quite like that. I saw him and others like him on dark fields, much like our own, but somehow different in the time of war. They all held those weapons I showed you and used them to shoot balls of fire at each other causing horrible injuries I had never seen before. People fell and were left for dead, there were no medics or magic to heal. Humans ran at each other like wild dogs wielding their sticks of fire and shooting each other mercilessly. I watched as this human I knew participated in the carnage and I finally knew the fear and mistrust that Luna had always had toward him."

"The last I saw before I could no longer bare to view his violent memories was the human be shot by one of the fireballs. I thought that he must have been much more badly injured than he was now and wondered how he had survived. He said he didn't even remember being shot, but he guessed it could have happened. And this is what worries me, my ponies, I think he might not have survived being shot like that and that is why he was somehow brought to our world. It still left much to be explained though. Why would he be the only human to come here in death? How did he come here? I didn't think that the vision of the human's past had done much more then make me fear him like everypony else, but I would not have much more time to ponder this as things were about to come to a head."

"It was in the early morning the next day as I got ready to hold court. No citizens were around yet, it was just myself and the royal guard. Luna was resting as she does in the morning after taking care of the night. The human suddenly came into the court room. I did not even know he had recovered enough to walk, and had never seen him outside of his quarters. Needless to say I was surprised to see him as were the guard, some of whom still didn't know about him. I asked what he was doing and if he needed anything. He didn't reply and as I was about to explain his appearance to the guard I noticed that he held that horrible weapon in his hands. Of course I didn't know what it was yet, but I remembered seeing it in his memories and immediately knew that something was very wrong. He spoke to me before it happened. He actually apologized and thanked me for taking care of him, and then he said that the power I possessed, along with our kind was too great for him to resist and that he must have it starting with the ruler of our country. Then he brought out that terrible thing and the world exploded in fire and deafening noise. It all happened so fast I barely could comprehend it. The only reason I am still here today to tell this story is because one of my soldiers by the name of Lancer jumped in front of the blast to shield me. His breast was pierced by the metal ball of fire that the human had shot and he died in a type of agony I hope to never see again. He sacrificed his life for me and there is not a day that goes by that I don't remember him. Although I could not describe what really happened to the citizens, I do have a statue of him in the Canterlot gardens which speaks of him as a brave pony who protected the royal sisters. I truly regret the trust I put into that Human Man and it grieves me that another pony had to suffer so greatly for my actions. " The princess had tears in her eyes, and as she bowed her head little Harmony came over and reached up to the alicorn's muzzle and wiped away her tears.

"It's OK, princess unicorn. He'll be waiting for you one day, and I'm sure he knows how grateful you are to him." She said softly, as if speaking with a voice from another time and place. The little girl held the princess's muzzle close to her face and leaned in with her.

Twilight watched in quiet awe as the human child calmed and comforted her mentor in a way a mother would comfort their child. She had never seen the princess cry in true sorrow like this and it pulled at her own heart. The little girl somehow seemed to understand what she was going through as she held onto the regal mare, closing her eyes and smiling sweetly.

Fluttershy was equally surprised to see the child she had been taking care of become the one to offer comfort- especially to the princess who had told such a dark tale, with such a tragic conclusion that Harmony seemed to understand as if her gentle soul had somehow felt it too. It brought tears to her own eyes and she bowed her head along with the princess and little girl.

"I thank you, my child. Your touch is of great comfort to me. You must possess some of your own magic to be able to heal like that." Celestia lifted her head once more and offered a sad smile to the child who stepped back, her own gentle smile her only answer.

"Unfortunately that is not the end of the story." The princess continued, sorrowfully.

"The human was subdued and brought to this dungeon by the rest of the guard and Luna who arrived too late after hearing the commotion. I couldn't face him and grieved for Lancer and my own mistake alone. Princess Luna was furious, and I left her to deal with him as she wished. And that may have been my second grave error in this tragedy. Because I could not deal with her or my own actions for some days after, I do not know what occurred with Princess Luna and the human. She left me alone and I did not seek her counsel. Then, before we had learned to deal with the tragedy the human had brought on us, she came."

"The Nightmare took possession of my precious sister, and I was forced to put my feelings of guilt and sorrow aside to deal with her. And you know the rest. By the time I had used the elements to banish her to the moon I had almost forgotten about the human during the even more tragic events leading to the loss of my sister. Our world had been thrown into chaos by Nightmare Moon, the soldiers had been too busy trying to protect everypony to guard the dungeons where we had left the human. When I finally thought to check on him I found them empty and he was gone. All that was left was the horrible weapon that had started everything. I locked it away in here in a fit of anger, and I have never found out what happened to the human since."

"That's because I made sure you didn't, sister." A voice echoed sternly in the darkness, and Celestia turned to see Princess Luna standing across the hall from the group.

She stood tall and strong like her sister, no longer the young pony the friends remembered her by from when they saved her from the Nightmare. Her midnight blue mane flowed wildly behind her as she stood braced in the dim light.

"Luna, what do you mean?" Celestia asked, warily, disturbed by her younger sister's tone and the anger glinting in her dark eyes.

"I made sure he would never hurt anypony again. Just like you did to me." Luna replied, darkly, her ears low and threatening.

"Luna, please…" the sun princess pleaded, backing up toward the others as she sensed the looming danger.

"No! I won't let you make the same mistake this time. I won't let a human into our world again!" The night princess reared up on her hind legs, and a flash of light exploded from her horn. The blast flew over to where Harmony stood watching fearfully beside Fluttershy. Before it could hit the child, the yellow pegasus jumped in front of the light and was enveloped in its blinding glow.

"No! Fluttershy!" Harmony cried, as the gentle pony reared up in fear and then collapsed to the ground.


End file.
